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The Metropolitan Police said officers attended after the London Ambulance Service called them to the south London property on Friday afternoon, where the 41-year-old was discovered unresponsive. A force statement noted that his death is being treated as unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious, with next of kin informed and supported by officers. Arday’s family said in a statement that they were in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son, adding that the campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone.
Arday resigned last week as professor of sociology of education after allegations of plagiarism in his PhD thesis and journal articles first raised by academic Nathan Cofnas, according to reports from Sky News and ABC News. The claims extended to questions over personal achievements he had cited, including long-distance fundraising runs that he said raised more than £5 million for charity. In earlier comments reported by The Times, Arday denied any plagiarism while admitting errors that he linked to his autism and reliance on mimicry to process information, stating that the positioning of him as this kind of liar and fantasist is totally unacceptable.
Cambridge University vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said the institution was deeply saddened to hear this tragic news, with hearts going out to Jason Arday’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. The university had launched an independent investigation into his appointment and record, while Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded his doctorate in 2015, previously concluded that he had not plagiarised work. The University of Glasgow, where Arday served as professor before Cambridge, announced it was shocked and saddened by the death of a former colleague and was reviewing his previous academic work.
Higher Education Statistics Agency figures from early 2025 show the proportion of UK professors who are Black remained at around 1 percent, even as absolute numbers rose modestly from 210 to 250. Arday’s 2023 appointment at Cambridge at age 37 was widely noted as a milestone, making him the youngest Black professor in the university’s history at a time when such roles remained rare. He had progressed from work as a physical education teacher to associate professor at Durham University and then to Glasgow in 2021 before joining Cambridge.
The academic had detailed his journey from being non-verbal until age 11 and unable to read or write until 18 in his memoir Great And Unfortunate Things, whose UK publication is scheduled for 27 August but whose related promotional event he cancelled last weekend. Arday carried the Olympic flame in the 2012 London relay and raised more than £5.5 million for over 70 charities through various challenges, according to profiles from institutions that awarded him honorary doctorates including Anglia Ruskin University. Those honours came after his Cambridge role, alongside trustee and advisory positions that reflected his rising profile.
Professor of Black Studies Kehinde Andrews, a friend who spoke to BBC Newsnight, described Arday as very down after resigning, noting that he felt there was no way out, was not leaving the house and had lost a lot of weight. Andrews added that there should be a wakeup call to just how bad black academics actually have it in academia. Jolyon Maugham from the Good Law Project called the death a tragedy and questioned what the public interest was in continuing to hound him after he resigned as a professor, while Education Secretary Lucy Powell said she was deeply shocked and saddened and urged people to remember there are real people with loved ones involved. Durham University recalled him as a kind and warm person who actively sought to promote opportunities for PhD students.
